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A little something different
I’d like to invite you all to check out the guest post “What Are You Tolerating?” I just wrote for Suzanne Bird-Harris of Learning Curve Coaching. Suzanne has a wonderful blog and I was thrilled to be allowed to contribute.
My thanks also to Alex of The Next 45 Years for interviewing me as part of his series “The Next 30 Blogging Heroes.” It was fantastic to be included, and I really enjoyed answering his questions. You can read the interview here.
If you read the interview, you’ll notice that I mention some upcoming video posts. And here is the first one!!! I thought it would be fun to do a little series on meditation - a topic near and dear to my heart. In this video, I talk about some of the very practical applications of a regular meditation practice. I’ll be posting Parts 2 and 3 in the next few days. Let me know what you think - this is all new to me! I was really inspired by Stephen Hopson of Adversity University and watching his journey of creating his first few video posts. I thought I’d give it a whirl, and talk to you in person for a change. I welcome your feedback!
March 12th, 2008 at 6:08 am
Andrea:
CONGRATULATIONS on making your first video post and thank you for giving me some link love and telling your readers how my videos inspired you to make yours.
WAY TO GO!
Now, may I humbly recommend that you make your videos accessible via subtitling? It’s not hard at all. Go to http://www.overstream.net and download your YouTube video to that site and start subtitling it. The tutorial makes it super easy to climb the learning curve. Believe me, if I can do it, so can you! I’m the worst technical guy you’d ever meet. Give it a try!
Thanks again for the link love. Good luck with the subtitling if you decide to give it a whirl.
And one final thing - it’s GREAT to see you on video. It gives everyone a chance to get to know you more. You have a dynamic personality!
March 12th, 2008 at 6:14 am
p.s.
I want to add some feedback for you.
Firstly, you seem to be a naturally articulate speaker - I was able to lip-read some but not all of what you said.
I liked your energy and how you came a little closer to the camera at one point. Your energy gave off a friendly disposition and I liked that a lot.
Because I am a professional speaker, one thing I would recommend that you do is make stronger eye contact so you can stay connected with the viewers. I know how funny it feels to be looking at the camera - I had that problem myself but the more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll be.
What kind of camera did you use? The lighting seemed to be pretty good. Did you use natural sunlight or did you use artificial lighting? I’m curious.
You seemed pretty comfortable in front of the camera despite your eyes shifting around a bit. That’s a great sign of what’s to come. I’m so glad you’re doing this!!!
March 12th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Stephen - You ROCK! And I had to laugh - I just knew you were going to call me on the subtitling. I’ve already created my account on Overstream and started subtitling … you’re right, it’s really easy. But my goodness, is it time consuming! So my plan is to do the subtitling tonight … it’s coming! I just ran out of time, and between posting without subtitles or not posting at all, I figured I would post without for now.
THANK YOU for the feedback. I’ve joined Toastmasters recently and discovered that I absolutely love public speaking. I never had much of an audience connection when I was singing opera - it was one of those things I was just missing as a performer. But in speaking, I get to use my own words, from my heart, and really get to just connect. Love it, love it! I’ve done my first three speeches in the last five weeks. In my last speech, I got the feedback that I look down when I’m transitioning/thinking, so I know I have to work on that. It is definitely tougher to talk to a camera than to real life people. By the way - it totally could NOT record anything with my webcam, sitting down. I was inspired by your videos to try talking while standing - it made all the difference!
I use the Sony HC28 - it has that reversible viewfinder, which is awesome. Otherwise, it’s pretty bottom-of-the line. I know you just upgraded … I wish I had a remote control! And I have a tripod. The lighting was a combination - from my window, but I also had artificial lighting to even it out. I use Windows MovieMaker to edit - the price is right, since it’s free!
Thank you again!!!
Blessings,
Andrea
March 12th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Andrea wonderfully informative!
On a different note - you’re already a pro at public speaking! I can only hope to be half that good some day.
All the best to you!
March 12th, 2008 at 7:30 am
Andrea, this was wonderfully informative!
On a different note - you’re already a pro a public speaking. I can only hope to be half as good some day!
All the best!
March 12th, 2008 at 7:33 am
Andrea:
You ROCK too! I feel like a proud papa or something because you I inspired you to get started not only in video blogging but also becoming part of Toastmasters, which I used to belong to years ago (and am about to rejoin in the local town I now live in).
Thanks for inspiring me with your journey! Keep going - you’re doing GREAT. You’re not letting fear stop you from taking those first steps.
Yes, I know sutitling is very time consuming. OH, I know that. Whew. But I always feel better afterwards knowing I’ve made mine “accessible.” The fact that it’s time consuming also motivates me to keep my video posts very short since it takes time to subtitle them.
GREAT JOB - don’t stop now - you’re on a roll.
March 12th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Andrea, that was fantastic! You have a wonderfully engaging way of speaking that drew me in. What you said was interesting and the way you said it kept me interested. It’s often difficult for people to connect with an audience when all that they can see is a camera lens, but you were definitely able to transcend the lens! I look forward to the rest of the series!
March 12th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Andrea,
Congratulations on producing an instructive and helpful video on meditation. You did it quite well, which is no surprise. I was pleased to see the living face behind the Andrea Hess logo. As for me, I will remain content hiding behind the Reddy Kilowatt logo!
I look forward to more instructive videos.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Z - Thank you! I feel pretty green at this, but I really value your encouragement.
Stephen - Thank you! Yes, the subtitles will definitely have me keep my videos short, too! You know, at first I had no idea that YouTube only accepts videos of less than 10 minutes in length. In my first video, I went on and on for 25 minutes - yikes! Imagine subtitling all that!
Thank you again for the inspiration! You definitely instigated this step for me - and it’s SO much fun!
Mags - Thank you! I’m so glad you liked it … I’ll be posting the next segments in the next few days, so stay tuned.
ReddyK - Thank goodness you liked it, since you’re probably far more of an expert on meditation than I am! I look forward to your comments on the rest of the series. And who knows … maybe we’ll get to see your face one of these days!
Blessings,
Andrea
March 12th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Andrea, it was nice to see you on a video, after having heard your voice on the phone many times. You did a great job. I am looking forward to more meditation videos. Thank you.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Hi Andrea
When I read your book ” Unlock Your Intuition ” I thought it was the best instruction manual ever written.
My intuition is telling me your meditation video series will leave the same impression.
I love your work
March 12th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Andrea,
What an awesome “first video”! You seem to be a “natural” speaker/teacher. Your gentle calmness comes to me across the media.
I also liked when you stepped closer to the camera at one point.
I look forward to future videos.
~Diane
March 12th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Andrea,
The first and foremost benefit for me was simply having the face to go along with the Voices I’m so familiar with… Awesome!
I particularly love that you established very early on the idea of using a focus-object, and how that can be any number of things from breathing, chanting, to observing thoughts — NOT that one-size-fits-all “Empty the Mind” premise that drives me NUTS.
Great job!
March 12th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Andrea, great first video. The only distraction for me was that you with your dark hair tended to blend in with the background of the books in the bookcase. Your speaking was absolutely inspiring. For a first time, you seemed like you had been doing this for years. Your love of your subject material comes through very strongly. Like Slade, I am glad to now have a face to go with the voice.
Patricia
March 12th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Andrea, I like the video a lot. So you talked to a camera on the tripod? That must be tough. Would it be possible to have someone hold the camera for you? And as Patricia says, the setting can be different — like in the garden or park? It would be nice to see you talking in the early morning light on a lawn chair. . .
Loved the content of the video. I think there are just SO MUCH talk about meditation that we need to get back to the basic.
March 12th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Anita, Bente and Diane - thank you so much for your encouragement. It really means a great deal to me!
Slade - Thank you! I totally agree with you! I think emptying the mind is completely impossible. The mind thinks - that’s its job. But we can give it something specific to do when we meditate.
Patricia - Thank you so much for the feedback. I’m going to play with the lighting a big and see what I can do.
Akemi - Thank you! I actually love the tripod - otherwise I’d forever have to rope my husband into being my camera man. And he has difficulty just figuring out the TV remote control, so he might be more hindrance than help.
I’ll have to think about getting outside. I’d be a bit concerned with the sound quality. Glad you like the content though. That’s really my main concern!
Thank you so much, everyone, for your encouragement. Stay tuned for the next post!
Blessings,
Andrea
March 13th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
[…] and impact people’s lives. One example would be Andrea Hess’s foray into making her first video post at Empowered Soul. She just joined Toastmasters only to discover how much she really likes public speaking. […]
March 14th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
I was really impressed by your video. It wasn’t “think positive” fluff, which is what I expected. I like the benefits you mention because not many people who teach meditation bring them up. Relaxation and a sense of well-being are great, but you are right: meditation is about making the mind an allie instead of an enemy.
March 15th, 2008 at 10:10 am
[…] first one is this great video post on meditation by Andrea Hess. I expected to hear about “thinking of a warm fuzzy place,” but I was pleasantly […]
March 16th, 2008 at 5:37 am
Ned, thank you! I’m not a huge fan of “think positive” fluff, either! Thinking positively is good, of course. But we can really only choose our thoughts if we’re in charge of them, right? I hope you stay tuned to Part 2!
Blessings,
Andrea
March 16th, 2008 at 7:13 am
I definitely will, Andrea.
Let me just say that I didn’t mean it is as a criticism of your site… just that many people tell us what we want to hear instead of what we need to hear. And, as in this case, what we need to hear has a positive effect.
Namaste
March 16th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Ned, I totally took it as a compliment! I agree with you that there is a lot of stuff out there that is what people want to hear. There’s a place for that information - it invites people in to consciously embrace their spiritual development. But then we have to challenge ourselves to go deeper - and sometimes deal with the gnarly stuff we don’t want to look at or hear.
I liked your blog, by the way - some very interesting stuff!
Blessings,
Andrea
March 16th, 2008 at 8:42 am
[…] the way, Part One is now updated with […]
March 17th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Andrea:
I finally had a chance to watch the newly subtilted version of this video and I must say, WOW. You are a gifted communicator. And the way you presented it made me want to learn more about meditation.
When I was watching it before (without subtitles), I wasn’t able to follow as much as I was able to after you put the subtitles on there. It’s fantastic!
I found myself smiling and giggling because I was certainly able to relate to some of the major points about the undisciplined mind such as worrying about something that happened in the past or might happen. Walking into a room and not remembering why you were there. Good stuff! You made your presentation “relatable.”
I am very grateful for the time and effort you put into subtitling this as I know how time consuming it is to do it. Do I ever! But when I do it, I feel good knowing that I made my video(s) available to anyone who wants to hear (or see) what I have to say. I always appreciate it when others do it for my benefit.
Awesome! Thanks!