Hi Everyone. It's Cami Walker and this is my third attempt to send you all the GOOD NEWS. There is a new version of the #29Gifts paperback is about to be be printed soon. Thank you for your commitment to GIVE, and share stories here.
I don't know who will see this here, but I have to believe it will be the right person at the right time. The book encourages us to give something outside our comfort zone. So when the opportunity to volunteer with Helps International Medical Teams to fly to Guatemala and give my nursing skills to help people in need came to me, instead of saying "oh I wish I could ", I actually accepted! This is huge for me. It is something I have wanted to do for years but have never felt empowered to follow through with. I am very excited but nervous. First off, the area isn't the safest to travel in. Secondly, it is a huge financial commitment, one I can't technically meet yet. But it definitely feels like the right time to do this so I am going to have faith that it is going to work out. My prayer request is this: As your gift today would you please pray for a safe trip, one that positivly impacts everyone involved. Please pray for the finances to come when they are supposed to. I know that not everyone can give financially, and I feel odd putting it out there but if you happen to be in a position to make a tax deductible donation or even to refer this information to a person/ business who can, please copy and paste the link below or contact me. Your well wishes are incredibly appreciated. Thank you so much for committing to these 29 days, I think its a powerful way to "be the change" instead of wishing for it. Blessings to you all. https://www.helpsintl.org/donate-to-helps Select donation page, "team donation " for Nonika Myers mission #2303
Valentine's day I spent 14 hours in the emergency room before I was admitted for an acute Multiple Sclerosis flare. Also struggling with #depression, #PTSD and #anxiety. Sunday I had a 3 hour MRI under general anesthesia.The results show two new enhancing lesions in my brain, one in my left frontal lobe and one in the right parietal lobe.
This flare started about three weeks ago. I am having cognitive problems. Can't focus or concentrate. My speech is slurring and I am having trouble finding and spelling words. My ears are ringing. In a lot of pain and dealing with severe spasticity. Vision is blurry and having vertigo. I am having problems walking and have been falling. It takes me an hour to write one paragraph. In short, I'm a hot mess.
I started IV steroids yesterday and have one more infusion tomorrow. The steroids make me anxious and agitated, but a few hours after the first dose, I was able to walk a little bit with assistance. I am working with physical and occupational therapy in the hospital. The doctors are also giving me Marinol (marijuana pills) for pain instead of opiates. I am using my CBD cream, gummies and vape pen. So glad I live in Colorado where cannabis is legal.
I give 29 Gifts Gift Tags to all of my nurses and doctors. You can download Gift Tags to print and give away. Just go to www.29gifts.org and click on Documents.
ASK QUESTIONS Welcome if you are new to www.29gifts.org. You will get more out of your #29Gifts experience if you interact with me and others online. Do you have questions for me about how to get started or keep your giving groove goings? Post your question in the comments and I will reply.
DO SERVICE Join our volunteer 29 Gifts Community Team. Help welcome new members and start conversations on www.29gifts.org. Leave a comment if you are interested. You can also organize group gives in your local area. When I was traveling and speaking about 29 Gifts, I organized Flower Power Gives in each city I visited. Read about my first Flower Power Give. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/get-your-give/200908/flower-power-give
SHARE YOUR STORY Write a 2,000-word personal essay submission for 29 Life Lessons: Reflections On Living and Giving, the much anticipated sequel to Cami Walker’s New York Times Bestselling self-help memoir, 29 Gifts: How A Month of Giving Can Change Your Life. 29 Life Lessons includes personal stories from Walker and members of the 29 Gifts global community, self-help prompts, and creative giving tips. Get submission guidelines and read three stories from Cami. http://follr.com/Communities/29Gifts/ViewPost/74108
GIVEAWAYS WANTED Are you an artist, author, healer or entrepreneur who wants to share a product or service with the #29Gifts community? Contact me to sponsor a Great Giveaway.
Since the Winter Solstice and recent full moon, I have been reflecting a lot about embracing change. Solstice is about rebirth and turning toward the light. Yes this is Winter, our coldest time of the year, yet days are slowly growing longer, allowing us more time to be active. In ancient Gaelic societies this would be the time of year when old ideas are discarded, old intentions reframed or remade entirely. In the spirit of returning to the light and the beginning of a new year, here are some new things to try:
29 NEW THINGS TO DO IN 2019 Read a new book Cook a new recipe Take a nature walk Meditate Take a trip somewhere new Plant a flower or tree Write a poem Say thank you Forgive someone Give a sincere compliment Invite a new person to coffee Pray for peace Smile at a stranger Paint, draw or doodle Volunteer Hike a new trail Rescue a dog or cat Snap a sassy selfie Sing a song Laugh more Look up at the stars Feed a homeless person Tell a new story Write yourself a love letter Visit a new church Go on an art date at a gallery Make a new friend Try a new hobby Give yourself a gift
PERSONAL NOTE I am back in Colorado after spending a few days over Christmas in Nebraska. I had fun with my parents and son, Henry Zane. Santa brought him the talking stuffed hamster he wanted. It repeats everything you say. I still have stitches in my mouth from my December 20 oral surgery. They come out January 10, then two months for the bone grafts to heal before they can finish my implant. Thank you to those who helped me raise funds. I will owe a final payment in February, my birthday month. Your financial gifts also help Trooper (my rescue dog) train to be a Therapy and Service Dog. Please give if you can and share this link in the spirit of community! https://www.gofundme.com/help-cami-break-free-from-ptsd-ms
ASK QUESTIONS Welcome if you are new to www.29gifts.org. You will get more out of your #29Gifts experience if you interact with me and others onlline. Do you have questions for me about how to get started or keep your giving groove goings? Post your question in the comments and I will reply.
DO SERVICE Join our volunteer 29 Gifts Community Team. Help welcome new members and start conversations www.29gifts.org. Leave a comment if you are interested. You can also organize group gives in your local area. When I was traveling and speaking about 29 Gifts, I organized Flower Power Gives in each city I visited. Read about my first Flower Power Give. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/get-your-give/200908/flower-power-give
SHARE YOUR STORY Write a 2,000-word personal essay submission for 29 Life Lessons: Reflections On Living and Giving, the much anticipated sequel to Cami Walker’s New York Times Bestselling self-help memoir, 29 Gifts: How A Month of Giving Can Change Your Life. 29 Life Lessons includes personal stories from Walker and members of the 29 Gifts global community, self-help prompts, and creative giving tips. Get submission guidelines and read three stories from Cami. http://follr.com/Communities/29Gifts/ViewPost/74108
GIVEAWAYS WANTED Are you an artist, author, healer or entrepreneur who wants to share a product or service with the #29Gifts community? Contact me to sponsor a Great Giveaway.
SAFE TRAVELS Welcome if you are new to www.29gifts.org. Welcome back if you are a #29Gifts veteran. Trooper and I leave Denver today on a bus to Kimball, Nebraska. Send prayers for safe travels. I am going to visit my son, Henry Zane, my parents and other family. It will be fun to be there for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Are you learning anything from giving #29Gifts during the holiday frenzy? At the beginning of December I suggested gifts that are low or no cost. Listen to a friend. Cook and share something sweet or savory. Give to the homeless. Do you have any ideas for gifts of the heart? Share them in the comments.
TOOTH FAIRY FUND I had another major oral surgery December 20. They did more bone grafting and put in the post for my implant. I am still very swollen, in a lot of pain and toothless. My left eye is black and blue from the procedure. It will take three months to heal. My out of pocket cost for this phase of treatment was $3,000. Thank you to those who helped me raise funds. Your financial gifts also help Trooper (my rescue dog) train to be a Therapy and Service Dog. Please give if you can and share this link in the spirit of community! https://www.gofundme.com/help-cami-break-free-from-ptsd-ms
GIVING ROCKS Exercise your creativity. Collect rocks of different sizes and paint or draw on them. Include inspiring words, images and www.29gifts.org to help our movement grow. Give your rocks away or leave them places for people to find. Check out some of my rocks in the photo gallery.
ASK QUESTIONS You will get more out of your #29Gifts experience if you interact with me and others on www.29gifts.org. Do you have questions for me about how to get started or keep your giving groove going after your first cycle of #29Gifts? Post your question in the comments and I will reply.
COMMUNITY TEAM Join our volunteer 29 Gifts Community Team. Help welcome new members and start conversations www.29gifts.org. Leave a comment if you are interested. You can also organize group gives in your local area. When I was traveling and speaking about 29 Gifts, I organized Flower Power Gives in each city I visited. Read about my first Flower Power Give. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/get-your-give/200908/flower-power-give
SHARE YOUR STORY Write a 2,000-word personal essay submission for 29 Life Lessons: Reflections On Living and Giving, the much anticipated sequel to Cami Walker’s New York Times Bestselling self-help memoir, 29 Gifts: How A Month of Giving Can Change Your Life. 29 Life Lessons includes personal stories from Walker and members of the 29 Gifts global community, self-help prompts, and creative giving tips. Get submission guidelines and read three stories from Cami. http://follr.com/Communities/29Gifts/ViewPost/74108
GIVEAWAYS WANTED Are you an artist, author, healer or entrepreneur who wants to share a product or service with the #29Gifts community? Sponsor a Great Giveaway. DM me if you are interested.
Welcome if you are new to #29Gifts or repeating #29Giftsin29Days. Are you seeing a return on your giving? Mindful giving is part of my daily spiritual practice. I dedicated myself to consciously give one gift a day over ten years ago. The gifts I offer are small things. A tissue to someone who is crying. Small donations of money. Extra, quality time with my son.
I've learned many lessons through my daily giving ritual, but the biggest, and possibly the hardest, is the art of mindful receiving. Giving is reciprocal and self-balancing. As you give more, you experience a psychic shift that heightens your awareness of the many things you receive. The giving part is easy, the receiving can be more difficult and more uncomfortable. We're programmed to see receiving as a sign of weakness. Overcoming that preconceived notion can take more effort than you'd think, but the payoff is that you will rarely experience a day when you don't get the thrill of knowing you've been on the receiving end of some sort of gift.
TOOTH AND TROOPER UPDATE I am having another major oral surgery December 20. I will be under IV sedation for two hours while they do more bone grafting and put in an implant. It will take three months to heal. My out of pocket cost for this phase of treatment is $3,000. I need help making the payment. Your financial gifts also help Trooper (my rescue dog) train to be a Therapy and Service Dog. My new friend and neighbor Amanda used to train dogs for www.freedomservicedogs.net. Amanda did a training session with Trooper at the dog park. He did great. Please give if you can and share this link in the spirit of community! https://www.gofundme.com/help-cami-break-free-from-ptsd-ms
HEALTH REPORT My doctors have agreed that I should get a hysterectomy, but it is not scheduled yet. I went to see my neurologist last week and she ordered new brain and spine MRIs to check for new Multiple Sclerosis disease activity. I am having problems walking. My right leg is weak and spastic. My hands are numb, weak and painful. I am struggling to focus and concentrate.
WHAT IF I MISS A DAY OF GIVING? Simply renew your commitment and start over with Gift 1. Starting over is the suggestion of Mbali Creazzo, the medicine woman who gave me the 29 Gifts "Prescription." Don't stress and don't quit. Starting over does not mean you failed; it is a way release the energy from your giving ritual and allow it to rebuild. We also suggest you sit down with your giving journal and reflect on your day. Was there a moment you offered a gift unconsciously or opportunities you didn't act on?
GIVING ROCKS Exercise your creativity. Collect rocks of different sizes and paint or draw on them. Include inspiring words, images and www.29gifts.org to help our movement grow. Give your rocks away or leave them places for people to find. Check out some of my rocks in the photo gallery.
ASK QUESTIONS You will get more out of your #29Gifts experience if you interact with me and others on www.29gifts.org. Do you have questions for me about how to get started or keep your giving groove going after your first cycle of #29Gifts? Post your question in the comments and I will reply.
COMMUNITY TEAM Join our volunteer 29 Gifts Community Team. Help welcome new members and start conversations www.29gifts.org. Leave a comment if you are interested. You can also organize group gives in your local area. When I was traveling and speaking about 29 Gifts, I organized Flower Power Gives in each city I visited. Read about my first Flower Power Give. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/get-your-give/200908/flower-power-give
SHARE YOUR STORY Write a 2,000-word personal essay submission for 29 Life Lessons: Reflections On Living and Giving, the much anticipated sequel to Cami Walker’s New York Times Bestselling self-help memoir, 29 Gifts: How A Month of Giving Can Change Your Life. 29 Life Lessons includes personal stories from Walker and members of the 29 Gifts global community, self-help prompts, and creative giving tips. Get submission guidelines and read three stories from Cami. http://follr.com/Communities/29Gifts/ViewPost/74108
GIVEAWAYS WANTED Are you an artist, author, healer or entrepreneur who wants to share a product or service with the #29Gifts community? Sponsor a Great Giveaway. DM me if you are interested.
Welcome if you are new to #29Gifts or repeating #29Giftsin29Days. During the holiday season it is easy to focus on giving and sometimes get carried away picking presents for everyone on your list. Here are a few giving ideas that cost little or no money. Challenge yourself this month to move beyond the material and give gifts of the heart.
TUNE IN Give the gift of listening to a friend, family member or even a stranger. Put down your phone, make eye contact and really listen.
AFFECTION Give hugs, compliments or smiles liberally.
POETIC WORDS Write a poem and share it with our community and others people you love. Make a collage or add other imagery to go with your poem. Here is a poem of mine if you want some inspiration.
Inspiring. Motivating. The common pursuit of personal truth. Whatever that means.
How? Following the mission means keeping it in sight. In range but just out of reach. Staying on the path of purpose. Feet planted. Rooted. The hard part.
Living passion. Breathing certainty. Reaching out when you feel like curling in. Hiding. Ducking away. Finding balance between the need to shelter yourself, and your desire to serve the collective.
How? Somehow. However it's speaking to you.
Feeling yourself. Accepting your everyness. The joyful. The enthusiastic. The creative. The loving. And the furious. The sobbing. The obsessive. The crazed.
GIVING ROCKS Exercise your creativity. Collect rocks of different sizes and paint or draw on them. Include inspiring words and images and www.29gifts.org to help our movement grow. Give your rocks away or leave them places for people to find.
HELP OTHERS Give food to a food pantry or directly to the homeless. Right now I am helping provide shelter for my good friends Ray and Kara who think of themselves as “home free”. Circumstances got them stuck in the Denver area for the winter months when it is too cold to live full time in their van. They are helping me with cooking, cleaning and we are sharing food and meals.
HANDMADE GIFTS Make your own tree ornaments, greeting cards or, holiday sweets or savory treats. Spend time at http://www.pinterest.com for ideas and www.etsy.com for handmade artisan gifts.
ASK QUESTIONS You will get more out of your #29Gifts experience if you interact with me and others on www.29gifts.org and www.facebook.com/29gifts. Do you have questions for me about how to get started giving or keep your giving groove going after your first cycle of #29Gifts? Post your question in the comments and I will reply.
HELP WANTED Join our volunteer 29 Gifts Community Team. Help welcome new members and start conversations www.29gifts.org. DM me or leave a comment if you are interested. You can also organize group gives in your local area. When I was traveling and speaking about 29 Gifts, I organized Flower Power Gives in each city I visited. Read about my first Flower Power Give. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/get-your-give/200908/flower-power-give
WRITE YOUR STORY I am still hard at work on the manuscript for my second book. Write a 2,000-word personal essay submission. 29 Life Lessons: Reflections On Living and Giving is the much anticipated sequel to Cami Walker’s New York Times Bestselling self-help memoir, 29 Gifts: How A Month of Giving Can Change Your Life. 29 Life Lessons includes personal stories from Walker and members of the 29 Gifts global community, self-help prompts, and creative giving tips. Get submission guidelines and read three stories from Cami. http://follr.com/Communities/29Gifts/ViewPost/74108
GIVEAWAYS WANTED Are you an artist, author, healer or entrepreneur who wants to share a product or service with the #29Gifts community? Sponsor a Great Giveaway. DM me if you are interested.
Good Giving! Cami Walker Chief Evangelist, 29gifts.org
P.S. I have been missing Charlie, my therapy dog who died in April. Give a financial gift to help Trooper (my rescue dog) train to be a Therapy and Service Dog and for additional dental work for me. I am having my teeth cleaned Monday and have another oral surgery again on December 20. They will be doing more bone grafting and put in the post for my implant. Please give if you can and share this link in the spirit of community! https://www.gofundme.com/help-cami-break-free-from-ptsd-ms
Happy December. The new month snuck up on me. Welcome if you are new to www.29gifts.org. Do you have questions for me about how to get started giving or keep your giving groove going after your first cycle of #29Gifts? Post your question in the comments and I will reply. Enjoy this flashback link from 2008 that includes simple giving ideas. http://www.oprah.com/spirit/cami-walkers-29-gifts
HELLO HOLIDAYS Winter is settling in Colorado. The mountains are covered in fresh powder, holiday lights are hanging and there is frost in the air. I went to my church this morning to help decorate for Advent then to a recovery meeting. Trooper and I enjoyed a chilly walk on the trails around my apartment with my friend Jannet after the meeting. I have been out of touch with all of you since coming home to Denver. I spent a week in Nebraska visiting family over Thanksgiving. I enjoyed the time with my son, Henry Zane, who will be six in March. He is in kindergarten now, reading a lot of books and enjoying math and science too.
PROGRESS NOT PERFECTION I have been stressed out catching up with unopened mail and trying to deal with some serious financial stress. I am practicing letting go of perfectionism and instead focus on progress that seems very slow most days. Progress not perfection is a concept from the addiction recovery world. Perfectionism can be a consuming and crippling. Learning to let little things go is a big lesson for me. How about you?
SHARE YOUR STORY Share your #29Gifts experience. Write a 2,000-word personal essay submission for my second book. 29 Life Lessons: Reflections On Living and Giving is the much anticipated sequel to Cami Walker’s New York Times Bestselling self-help memoir, 29 Gifts: How A Month of Giving Can Change Your Life. 29 Life Lessons includes personal stories from Walker and members of the 29 Gifts global community, self-help prompts, and creative giving tips. Get submission guidelines and read three stories from Cami. http://follr.com/Communities/29Gifts/ViewPost/74108
HELP WANTED Join our volunteer 29 Gifts Community Team. Help welcome new members and start conversations www.29gifts.org. DM me or leave a comment if you are interested. You can also organize group gives in your local area. When I was traveling and speaking about 29 Gifts, I organized Flower Power Gives in each city I visited. Read about my first Flower Power Give. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/get-your-give/200908/flower-power-give
GIVEAWAYS WANTED Are you an artist, author, healer or entrepreneur who wants to share a product or service with the #29Gifts community? Sponsor a Great Giveaway. DM me if you are interested.
Good Giving! Cami Walker Chief Evangelist, 29gifts.org
The Giving Prescription www.oprah.com
After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Cami Walker lost the ability to walk and was spiraling into depression until a spiritual teacher gave her a prescription: Give 29 gifts away for 29 days.
TRAVELING MERCIES Welcome if you are new to http://www.29gifts.org or a returning #29Gifts veteran. I am leaving Denver today on a bus to Kimball, Nebraska for one week. Please send prayers for safe travels. I get to spend four days with my son, Henry Zane before he goes with his dad for his family’s week-long combined Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday in Colorado. I will stay in Nebraska for Thanksgiving at my aunt’s home one hour away near Scottsbluff. This is my first trip to Nebraska since August because of my oral surgery and October 30 surgery to remove fibroids and benign polyps from my uterus.
GO GRATITUDE November is GRATITUDE MONTH. How are you cultivating an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE? If you stay in a space of giving and gratitude, you attract more of what you want in life. During your #29giftsin29days take notice of at least three things you are grateful for each day. Today I am grateful for my family, friends and fans. Comment and tell me what you are thankful for today.
GRATITUDE ROCKS Exercise your creativity. Collect rocks of different sizes and paint or draw on them. Include inspiring words and images and www.29gifts.org to help our movement grow. Give your rocks away or leave them places for people to find.
STILL SEEKING STORIES Share your #29Gifts experience. Write a 2,000-word personal essay submission for my second book. 29 Life Lessons: Reflections On Living and Giving is the much anticipated sequel to Cami Walker’s New York Times Bestselling self-help memoir, 29 Gifts: How A Month of Giving Can Change Your Life. 29 Life Lessons includes personal stories from Walker and members of the 29 Gifts global community, self-help prompts, and creative giving tips. Get submission guidelines and read three stories from Cami at this link. http://follr.com/Communities/29Gifts/ViewPost/74108
COMMUNITY TEAM Join our volunteer 29 Gifts Community Team. Help welcome new members and start conversations www.29gifts.org. DM me or leave a comment if you are interested. You can also organize group gives in your local area. When I was traveling and speaking about 29 Gifts, I organized Flower Power Gives in each city I visited. Read about my first Flower Power Give. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/get-your-give/200908/flower-power-give
TROOPER TRAINING AND TOOTH FAIRY Give a little (or big) financial gift to help Trooper (my rescue dog) train to be a Therapy and Service Dog. I still need help getting to my goal for private dog training costs and for additional dental work for me. Please give if you can and share this link in the spirit of community! https://www.gofundme.com/help-cami-break-free-from-ptsd-ms
GIVEAWAYS WANTED Are you an artist, author, healer or entrepreneur who wants to share a product or service with the #29Gifts community? Sponsor a Great Giveaway. DM me if you are interested.
SUPPORT 29 GIFTS Please invite friends to join you at www.29gifts.org. Use the tag #29Gifts on your social media posts. "Like" and Share http://www.facebook.com/29gifts. Follow Cami on Twitter or Snapchat @camiwalker29 and at https://www.instagram.com/camillaswalker. Click on Documents to download free 29 Gifts Note Cards and other fun giving tools. Do you have questions for me about how to get started, or how to keep your giving groove going after your first cycle of #29Gifts? Post your question in the comments and I will reply.
Good Giving! Cami Walker Chief Evangelist, 29gifts.org
