Age of Reason: Part 1

The Age of Reason.

According to childhood development, we start to develop our "age of reason" between 5-7 years old. So I guess that 5-7 is our age of reason. Are we still reasoning from that age?

LIfe/More/Sh*t Happens

Just because I don't like what is happening, doesn't mean I can change what is happening. When life happens, when more happens, when shit happens, it happens. Life/More/Shit Happens as mysteriously as when LIfe/More?Shit doesn't. And sometimes, when it rains, it pours. Or the opposite - drought. And sometimes it seems as if there is no middle ground.

So LMS happens, and where am I in relationship to the Happen-ings?  Tires get flat, dogs get sick, items get forgotten, jobs get booked, jobs don't get booked, they love me, they love me not - all that happens. What can I change? Not much.
Except...

1) I can change my relationship to what's going on.  I can let it bother me, or I can find a way to not let it bother me. Often a perspective shift will do the trick. Sometimes finding a root belief structure and understanding how it's played in to our relationship with LMS works well, because it helps bring us back into present moment.

2) I can change my actions/reactions. If I don't like what's going on, and my pattern is to sit on it, pretend it  doesn't bother me, hope it goes away, and that doesn't work because I start to fall into self-destructive or self-numbing behavior patterns, which might involve closing down to love and present moment, then it may be time to #dosomethingdifferently. Maybe its time to speak up, or take an action. If you don't know what to say, at least you've entertained the idea, and have asked the question, "what do I want to say right now?" "what outcome am I seeking, and even though I may not get it, what do I need to say or do to make sure I've heard my Self?"

So we are back to the "Big 2" for 2018
#gethonestfaster
#doingitdifferentlyin2018

And let it pour!

OMG

Interesting that the "Moving" blog post had more hits than any other blog post to date. YAY! That means we are really MOVING! Moving on from past constructs. Moving more into Present Moment. Realizing that something inside needs/wants/is ready to move.

I've been one who has researched, lived, and experienced "moving for movement's sake." The emails, texts, and phone calls I've been receiving since the "Moving" blog have not been from out of balance vata, or from people who are seeking escape. The feedback I'm getting is that this idea of "moving" has been bubbling underneath and now has a format or "permission" to express itself, even if it's just the form of a question, or the nod of acknowledgment, or a breath of consideration.

Wow.

Again, I am impressed and this time a smidge awed at the workings of that which we cannot name. Keep those impressions coming! More to come on this "moving" topic! Perhaps a more in depth workshop or webinar that will specifically address the questions, queries, and considerations that come from YOU! (which is me but outside of myself. and it's never outside of myself!)

Thank You.
So Much.

There is clearly something more that is happening.

So keep on keepin on, as we do every.single.day.  And.night. If we can remember the sleep state.

And RELAX! Relax. relax. re.lax. r. x.
xo

Moving

Yes. We are moving. As is everyone. In our case we are moving to another state. I'd like to say, "as is everyone," and sometimes I think it's true. And other times I think inertia plays a factor and we get stuck in a holding pattern, not because we love it, but because it is there.

We are moving to another state. And from a consciousness point of view, that is also true.

A result of #gethonestfaster and #doingitdifferentlyin2018

So start packing so we can start unpacking.

Let the games begin.

Oh yes, they've already started. What I want to know is, did I miss the half time show?

Big Impact and the Boomerang Effect

A lot of people I talk with say that one of their goals is to "create impact." And yet, we all create impact, consciously or unconsciously.

No matter how big or how small your perceived thought or action, you create impact. Thus, you are creative. You create daily. And your creations are impactful. Each thought, word, or action goes out into space until it hits the edge of infinity, and then comes back to us. That's one way how things that "go around," "come around." That's another way that our intentions turn to physical manifestations. That's another way we learn. And that's a way we have impact. Like it or not. The question is, what impact do you want to have? 

President's Day

Your body/mind is a country and all your cells, organs, etc... are the citizens of your country. Are you a good President to your country? What states do you pay attention to? Where do you allocate your resources? Are there parts of you that go unnoticed and unappreciated?

How can you be a better President to the country of You? 

Connection

We are all connected. Whether we like it or not.

An Existential Dilemma Involving Phones and Trees, but Not a Phone Tree

Sometimes I use my phone to capture creative moments.

And sometimes I don't.

Am I tired of using my phone to capture creative moments, or am I just tired of capturing creative moments that no one but me will hear?

Am I the witness to my own tree falling in the forest, or am I my own forest full of falling trees?

Good thing someone out there knows the value of trees.

Will my forest survive the clear cut of time and space?

Or does it even matter?

And if my phone dies, what happens to me?

And if I'm thinking like this

Maybe it's time to go back to paper and pencil

Just saying...

I Did It Differently

True confessions, and for some, maybe TMI about me. I am one of those people who buys a new item of clothing and then lets it hang in my closet for quite sometime before wearing it because I'm so excited about it's "newness." Possible fear-based decision making involved. Fear of spoiling it. Fear of getting a spot on it. Cue the childhood memories...  "Don't get your dress dirty!" "Don't ruin it!" "Save it for later." What was I saving those clothes for? A time when I would go to my closet, butt naked, open it up and have no clothes??? As if I was going to run out of them. And I never had a growth spurt, so outgrowing them overnight wasn't a reality for me. Just a dream. In spite of it all, I would shop and the brand new clothes hung in my closet to "cure" or "season" or "age" just enough for me to at some point put them on and wear them.

I did it differently yesterday. I went to the mall and bought a new top and wore it out to dinner. And came home with 3 food spots on it.

And I lived to tell about it.

Bam!

Day of Love

Valentine's Day. A day of love.

Are you waiting for someone to give you that "special something?" That "perfect evening?" The best sex of your life? The list goes on...

#whatareyouwaitingfor

And if you are waiting for someone to give you that perfect day/evening/gift/experience, wait no longer! You know what it is that you want! Give it to yourself! You say it won't mean as much coming from you? Hmmmm.... Is your love worth less than the love that comes from outside of yourself? Is it "No Fun" because you already know what you want? So then perhaps it's not about the gift at all, but about someone slaying the dragon, figuring out the puzzle, loving you enough to "get it right" and be able to guess what's in your brain. If your dream involves someone else to "share" with, when was that last time you "shared" an experience with yourself? I mean, really shared?  Really.

I know it's Valentine's Day, and everyone is trying to sell you something. And I have to share something close to my heart, because if this holiday is less than stellar for you for ANY reason, then you need the LOVE LAB. Just do it. Come and learn how to really love yourself, and nourish, grow, and develop a loving and lasting relationship with your most intimate partner - YOU.

Just sayin...

Love is all there is. Why not love the one you're with?

Click here if you are ready for the relationship of your Life.

This could be the #doingitdifferentlyin2018 that you've been waiting for.

https://tri.ps/negBh

Time for Chemistry?

So I know you think this could be a pre-Valentine blog post, because of the Chemistry thing. Keep your pants on. That may come later. No puns intended, but I'll take them.

The questions I am posing are:

What would it be like if you felt in your body and believed that you really do have all of eternity to "get it all done?' How would that change the chemistry of your body? The chemistry of your mind?

Assignment: Imagine that you have all of eternity and see if or how it changes your chemistry, perception, attitude, mood, physical well being, flexibility, stress level. 

Get back to me with your findings.

Carry on...

Is Life just one long to do list?

Sometimes does it feel like life is just one long to do list?

Well, if you think about it, it kind of is. Because that's what we are doing. We are doing the being on earth thing and that means we do stuff. And more stuff. And even more stuff.

So as we "clean out the back closet" (number 36 on my to do list), let's clean out the closet of our "to dos!" Ask - what do you want to do? - put a star by those. What do you need to do? - put an exclamation mark by those. What aren't you willing to do? - Delete those. 

Voila!

Carry on. 

The whole package

Trust in the Trusting

Hold tight. Be patient. Just let go.

How do we "let go" when we are trying to "hold on?" Interesting thought.

Trust. That's how. We hold on to trust. Shradda in Sanskrit is faith. The Faith in whatever keeps us going. Trust that. And if you can't trust that, it's time to up your game and find something else.

FOMO?

FOMO.
Fear Of Missing Out.
What are we really afraid of?
What are we really afraid of "missing out" of?

Just wondering...

Did'ya Miss Me?

(Warning: Liberal use of " 'quotation' marks" zone ahead)

Did'ya miss me? Well, I missed you! And I missed a blog day! "The day got away from me." Actually I was so IN my day yesterday, present from thing to thing, and when I had the thought to sit down and blog, my excuse (whether accurate or perceived) was "I don't have enough time" followed by "I'll get to it later" not considering that my "day" of work went from 9am-9pm. What was I thinking - I'll get to it later?" When? How late? At 9:30 pm? Yeah, right! That was me setting up an unrealistic expectation. A way to succeed at Failing. A way to make sure that I had fodder to come down on myself for something, lest things feel too good.

What an excellent teaching/awareness moment for myself and my Self! So here I am, the next day, skipped a blog, and I lived to tell about it!

This morning I said to my husband, "Honey I didn't blog yesterday. So much for the 365 thing." He said, "How long are you in it for?" I answered, "About 40 days." And he said, "you can always start over." And I said, "I'm not going to do that."  (#gethonestfaster) So I skipped a day. And here we are, with the "day after" blog. And truth be told, as I've gotten into this project I created for myself, I've been kinda iffy about it, because I'm not sure I have much else to say about stuff that I used to be so Gung Ho about sharing. Now I'm more of the "if you are around me and some cool stuff happens to come out and we both happen to be there for the insights - yay and BONUS!" and less about gathering up all these cool teachings and insights, organizing them, and putting them out there.

I've done a lot of "disciplines" in my life, and completed them, day after day, without skipping. This skip, had I not had a bunch "completions" under my belt, might "require" the "start over." But not today. I'm not starting over, because I have a through line, and I trust myself and 1) know that I'm not failing myself or anyone else because I didn't blog yesterday, 2) I know why I created this project for myself, and know that skipping of a day will not adversely impact that, 3) I know that I have the chops and capacity to do a practice without fudging the "rules" and without skipping a day, and 4) I see what a cool gift this is/was to talk about that big, shame-filled suitcase we may carry around that deals with our relationship to FAILURE (caps intended for emphasis). Whether you have a "failure" thing or not, we all have a relationship to the idea or perception around failure.

And this just got that ball rolling.

Future blogs may include:
1) my relationship to blogging: why i like it, why i don't, why i'm doing it, why its useful, why it might not be, why i'm iffy about sharing in a blog
2) commitment to extended practices
3) present moment
4) how to lighten up on yourself without failing yourself
5) how to lighten up on yourself without letting your saboteurs/habits/inertia run the show
6) how doing something I've done before is #doingitdifferentlyin2018
7) how i set myself up for "failure" and how I could have avoided it #gethonestfaster #doingitdifferently #doingitdifferentlyin2018
8) "appropriate" use of quotation marks
9) legal limit/ratio of quotation marks:text in a single document
10) when to put your whole document in quotes
11) How to live a quotation marked life

And thats just the beginning. Of the present moment.
#notanepicfail #notevenaregularfailure  

Shoulda Woulda Coulda Test

Imagine today that you aren't the one moving. Imagine that the restaurant you wanted to eat at for the last 18 months is moving far enough that you'll really have to make an effort to go there. How much in the way of "dang it! i shoulda gone while I had the chance!" comes up for you?

Or a friend that you hardly ever see, but you take for granted and assume that you will be able to see them "some other time" is now going to move across the country? How does that affect you? Maybe it's freeing because you discover they weren't as important to you as you thought. Or maybe the opposite.

Or that class you wanted to take? Or that exhibit you wanted to see? Or that trip to the Headlands?

As life presents opportunity after opportunity (and the more abundant we realize ourselves to be, the more opportunities we see!), what choices are we making? Are we making choices from fear or lack that "maybe I'll never get another chance to [fill in the blank with that "new exotic thing" that you haven't heard of  or considered, or something else]" and we forget about all the "little blanks" that have been right in front of our noses, here for the asking/taking/experiencing, as we assume that we will always be able to go see them/learn from them/experience them because they are in close proximity?

When making choices, don't assume that everything will be around forever, and that some things that are right under our noses, could be the new/exotic/supportive, choice for us. IE - taking a job down the street. Walking across the Golden Gate bridge. Going to the MOMA. 

I know that I am a person who has fallen into this assumption that something/someone/some place will always be there and I'll get to it - WHEN I HAVE TIME. Well, it looks like an opportunity may have passed me by and I didn't act on, in spite of my Self telling my self to pick up the phone and make the appointment for the last 5 years! It may not be too late. The question is, will I throw in the towel, or will I use what time I have left before this person/place/thing is no longer in my "local commute" reality?

Whatever I decide will tell me a lot. It will tell me what is driving the bus.  It will tell me whether I feel worthy enough. It will tell me whether or not I'm ready for answers to my questions even though the answers may not be what I want to hear. It will tell me what people/places/things I deem as "important" (and some are very important! others - well...) and where this choice to act or not act falls on that scale. 

Will it be another case of the Shoulda Woulda Coulda where I'm left with "And I Didn't." And with the question, "Why didn't I?" 

That is the question. Why didn't I? It's a worthy question when seeking real answers and insights as it can take you deeper into the mystery of Self. Who/what is driving that bus? Is that the person or thing I want driving my bus? And is the bus going where I want it to go? Which takes us back to who's driving.

Identity Test

Imagine that you were required to move at the drop of a hat. You have 1 month to pack up and move to a completely different environment and no one will know you. The reason for the move is irrelevant at this point. It doesn't matter if you want it or you don't. The point of the exercise is to examine who we think we are, and how maintaining that construct can take up energy that we could use elsewhere.

Who will you be when you get there? How will you introduce yourself? What will you do? Are there things that you count on for your "identity"? What habits define you?  Do you count on your identity as a means of potential income? What if you didn't have that identity? Would you starve?

What would it feel like if you didn't care what people knew about you? Can you imagine feeling a freedom in a totally clean slate?

*"things" means "people, places, and things

#doingitdifferently
#gethonestfaster

Attachment Test

Imagine that you could move anywhere you want. You have 1 month to pack up and make the change.

What are you afraid of losing? What are you afraid you won't have anymore? Are those things worth sticking around for? What's keeping you here?

#doingitdifferently
#gethonestfaster

Appreciation Test

Imagine that you were required to move at the drop of a hat. You have 1 month to pack up and move to a completely different environment. The reason for the move is irrelevant at this point. It doesn't matter if you want it or you don't. The point of the exercise is to put yourself in the frame of mind and look around your "right here right now" life.

What things* would you miss? What things have you put off? What things have you overlooked? What things have you taken for granted?

Pay attention and let that information inform your choices. Visit and appreciate those things.

*"things" means "people, places, and things

#doingitdifferently
#gethonestfaster

Groundhog Day

So I sang "I Got You Babe" to my shadow.
We have each other. Seeing my shadow is not scary and does not drive me back into my hole.
And I am not the shadow of my former self. My shadow might be my former self, or a reflection of that. I am all that my shadow is, and also all that is not my shadow.

And where there is light, there is my shadow, so when I see may shadow, I know that I am standing in the light. When I can't see my shadow, I am in the dark. I can't see my Whole Self.

#gethonestfaster

I am Shadow. I am Light. And I am all that is in Between.

And maybe that is #doingitdifferentlyin2018 #willingtosee

Box of Chocolates

Yes. Definitely referencing Forrest Gump here. The old "life is a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get."

Well, I"m pretty familiar with most boxes of chocolates at this point, but there is still mystery, especially with brands I'm not as familiar with. Again, like life.

Life is the ultimate infinite brand that keeps repackaging and reinventing itself, because as many of us have experienced, just when we think things are going one way, they go another. And this turn of events can either be plus or minus, depending on perception.

And if we look further, we know that anything can happen at anytime, outside of planning, outside of logic, outside of experience.

So, "Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you are going to get." Today could be the day that everything changes for you.

Today could be the day.

And good thing I like chocolate. That way if I'm biting into something I've had before, and it's another day of the same ol' same ol',  I still like what I'm eating.