The guidebook, like everything else that has evolved into the nonprofit organization Planet Blessed and a growing inventory of publications, programs, and products for helping individuals, organizations, and communities "Bless the Mess" by using mindfulness practices began in the Summer of 2020 as we, cofounders and co-creators Leslie Riopel and Charles Betterton, were seeking positive ways to cope with the Coronavirus pandemic.

 

We attended several training programs including the 90-Day Author Challenge in June hosted by Park Point Press of the Center for Spiritual Living and The Summer Academy of Writing in July with Marc Allen of  New World Library. These two amazing training programs delivered via Facebook groups inspired us to create a resource that would help the world go from surviving to thriving or Sur-Thriving. That is how the “Bless the Mess Sur-Thrival Journal” was birthed which has evolved into the Ultimate Mindful Sur-Thrival System which includes this guidebook. 

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We felt so inspired by these training programs hosted by Dennis Merritt Jones, Marc Allen, and SARK, we decided to seek positive, uplifting solutions we could use and possibly share with others who were also coping with the challenging new normal. While we began working with our own personal situations, because of our service orientation, our focus quickly shifted to ways we could help families and communities Sur-Thrive. In July of 2020, Leslie attended a course with Debbie Drum and Amy Harrop on how to create workbooks which helped further refine our creative vision for the “Bless the Mess Mindfulness Sur-Thrival Journal” and future mindfulness card decks. To help make it easier for readers and participants to obtain maximum value from these resources, we decided to create 4 distinct categories:

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• Abundance and Prosperity

• Health and Well-Being

• Raising Consciousness

• Empowerment and Enlightenment

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As a result of these efforts and collaboration – the “Bless the Mess Sur-Thrival Mindfulness Journal” was born, and the initial version of the journal was published on Amazon in August of 2020. ​However, the journey didn’t stop there! After attending another wonderful event hosted by Rosie Battista, the Queen of Card Decks in August 2020, Leslie was inspired to create a companion card deck to the journal. That is how the first little gem, the "Bless the Mess Affirmation Card Deck" was born! It was meant as a tool to help showcase the 53 affirmations from the Bless the Mess journal. Our co-creative process didn’t stop there however as we continued to collaborate and co-create an even bigger vision – creating a larger card deck that includes 

 

ALL 53 mindful Sur-Thrival exercises and all of the affirmations! It was a BIG vision. As a result of these efforts, the "Bless the Mess Sur-Thrival Exercises and Affirmation Card Deck" was born – however, it was really much bigger than a mere card deck – it was obviously part of what was becoming a "Mindfulness Sur-Thrival System!"  That is when our vision got even bigger, and the "Ultimate Mindful Sur-Thrival System" was born! https://www.planetblessed.org/ultimate-mindful-sur-thrival-system. 

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Our journey continued with an idea to repurpose content that Leslie had previously published on Amazon,  “The 21-Day Mindfulness Challenge for Managing PTSD: 21 Mindfulness Exercises to Ease Post-Traumatic Stress” and the "Mindful Sur-Thrival Guide for Managing Post-Traumatic Stress and Anxiety Card Deck" was born.  Charles then had an even bigger idea, or shall we say a smaller idea! He was determined to create a pocket-sized guidebook utilizing the Bless the Mess card deck in a booklet form so people could utilize the exercises and affirmations while waiting in a health provider's office, stuck in traffic, or in any potentially stressful or time-wasting situation. That idea soon became the "Ultimate Mindful Sur-Thrival Guide for Managing C.R.A.P. in Your Life! Coping Resourcefully with Aggravating and Annoying People, Problems, and Places!"

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Invitation for Your Collaboration! We are presently seeking various ways of making our powerful pocket-sized guidebook available to as many individuals and organizations as possible. For example, we are preparing to offer membership services in Planet Blessed and invite donations to help provide scholarships for all of our programs and publications. We are also preparing to identify potential sponsors and conduct crowdfunding campaigns to help us accelerate the ongoing evolution of the Ultimate Mindful Sur-Thrival System. If you would like to participate and help provide greater resources and opportunities for individuals, organizations, and communities to Sur-Thrive, please contact us in whatever way is most convenient to you. In the meantime, we invite you to consider making a donation in whatever amount feels like a blessing to you.  Click Here to share your gift through our nonprofit partner the University for Successful Living.

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Thank you!  

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