Touching in on the fragrance of the power of numbers and the breath. What creativity can look like. How to settle into oneself in order to be all that.
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[PODCAST] Taking Charge of Your Life – Episode 1 – To Matter
This is delving into launching something. Heading the call inside oneself to actually do it!
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Personal Architecture
A boundary is a beautiful act in architecture. It is self loves journey. Although it can be a difficult process at first- it’s the inroad to the outroad. Without them life is chaotic and confusing.
It’s all kinds of crazy.. and Michael Moore knows it
You know how when something smells bad, but when you’re in it you get used to it? That’s what it’s like in the States now. I spent 3 months in Spain. Lived on 25 euro, and less a day. This included going out to eat. An incredible meal with wine is 8-15 euro depending. Going to the Mercado Central, spending 20 euro I’d have food for the week to prepare at home. They are fortunate, there is no trip about food. It’s all local, regional, from amazing soil. You are enriched by the earth that you’re standing on. I became sooooo much healthier. I also went to an amazing dentist, a dermatologist, and opthamalogist. You don’t see an opthamalogist here, likely don’t even know who that is, unless you’ve had surgery. They are the ones with all the degrees. She was 50 euro- for the most complete eye exam. The guy who fit me for contact lenses didn’t charge me anything until we ordered the lenses.
Michael Moore’s movie, Where To Invade Next, is just coming out now. He’s showing the amazing things that other countries do for their people. Of course, it’s complicated here in the States.
The first trip to Whole Foods upon returning here, I was sad and mad. Furious that a loaf a bread could cost $11, because it was local and from the little guy. Of course this person had to charge that much. How else? I was sad at how confused everyone must be here and some don’t even know WHY. One week back some little things that had healed, a split in my nails for example, came right back. Weird. I feel it’s about minerals. They have a mineral water that I couldn’t get enough of. I won’t even write its name..it’s so sacred! My friend who brought me to Spain to watch over her pets and apartment, told me before I came that she thought the mineral water was helping her hair. I couldn’t really take it in, I had to experience it.
This post isn’t about bashing the States, or that anyone should move somewhere else. Why are there refugees in Europe? They are not being accepted here, from something initiated here. I’m writing as a reminder. It’s not all personal. You’re not crazy. You’re on your own. In ways that you shouldn’t be. It’s affecting everyone. The quality of life is hard to find cuz it costs more than is correct. The good news is. You’re on your own. You’ve got to dig in deeply and find what’s right for you.
More than ANYTHING that can be written is to focus on what floats your boat. Remember the place inside where you feel some peace. Keep your energy up, as high as possible. This includes the company you keep. If you keep entrenched in the problems that is exactly where your energy goes. This is a choice. I’m not saying it’s effortless. Like I said in the newsletter, our job is to be the LIGHT. So.. What lights you UP?
We have control of our inner world. From a groomed worrier: Stop worrying and find your sweet spot!!!
This is a photo in Peniscola Spain, where they shot the last season of Game of Thrones in September.
Power Journal is ready for you
Journal with Purpose
I’ve been writing journals since I was about 9. That’s quite a few hundred journals in my lifetime. I have to. To put words on paper, get things out, get to the root, and finally when an aha occurs I want to remember it.
This week, 3 different stories came to me. 1st was an interview with Ne -Yo, songwriter and producer. He had a lot of pent up aggravation as a kid after his father left, and his mom gave him pen and paper and said write it down. The journals he began to write became the seed ground for his songs.
Here, part of a post from Humans in New York, “I was the youngest person in prison, so I withdrew into myself, and I started writing in a journal every single day. That journal became my world. I used it to figure things out, and one of the first things I realized was that I’d stopped being me. It wasn’t so much the crime that had landed me in prison. It was that I had decided to stop being me.” Part of a powerful thread of stories from a neighborhood in Brooklyn that’s a hard place to get ahead. You may be following the miraculous story that is unfolding there starting with a young man, Vidal. It’s the greatest human story of the moment being broadcast.
I spoke to a friend the other day, we hadn’t talked in so many years. As we shared where we’ve been, we met in the NYC when she came to see my apartment as I was looking for a housemate at the time, she’s now out west and I’m in Asheville, we both referenced looking back at our journals and seeing how we had referenced things that we had forgotten and how some were playing out. I read something from 2004. These were entries I wrote while doing a play in Woodstock. I was so happy and wrote about how free and creative I felt. How someone had seen the play and wanted me for other plays and that he’d help me get my equity card. I had forgotten about that. And THEN amidst the journaling, I wrote go to Mt Mitchell, in Asheville NC, highest point east of the Mississippi. Planted the seed. I did visit Mt Mitchell last year. I went because a friend recommended it. I had no idea that I had it on my bucket list.
We are always creating. Always. Every thought, every word, every sensation. We are receiving and sending signals constantly. To have a place to write in that stream of consciousness way, with structure and support strengthens us at our core. It’s powerful.
Co-create consciously. The Power Journal.
Any journal story you want to share?
2015.. an 8 year!
The powerful 8 year is here, and January 1st is a one day. How cool. It’s actually a 10 day, the Wheel of Fortune. What auspicious numbers to start the year. Be prepared for opportunity. Center and get ready set go!
An 8 year will have us in a balancing act collectively. There will be a lot that will come together, and it will likely be fast and fierce. As a group, if we can come together and make adjustments in the moment when things occur before things get lost and we get distracted, we will swiftly move forward. A good thing to remember is to communicate directly and with lightning speed. Don’t get mired in minutiae, and keep things balanced. Act boldly and powerfully. Remember Ben Franklin, who warned about the danger of procrastinating. He’s a great example for this year. Check out his advice.
The last week of the year
Take some time before the new year even starts to take stock and reflect on the past year. Take a breath and exhale last year. Instead of a resolution, re-solve what is incomplete. Shining awareness here will open new possibilities.
This is a sober approach to the New Year before the champagne, so you don’t drag the old stuff with you! Instead of just hoping that things will be different or better, sit with yourself and reflect on the past year. It can be brief.
Take this opportunity, while the whole world is positioning itself, to acknowledge and remember where you’ve been, what worked, and where you realize you can do better. There may be many little things that you forgot to celebrate. You are looking at this as an observer so no judgement. With this commitment you will land right into the present moment. Just be with it all as it is. It’s like remembering scenes from a movie that you were in, and now you are watching.
Certainly write down what needs completion. You are facing yourself, and it’s very grounding. Alleviate the overwhelm and pressure of looking ahead by giving this practice its due. It’s a simple task that helps you find your own rhythm. What comes naturally is what you want to experience next year, and you can schedule and be on your way.
You can share some insights with your partner if you’d like, and see what is motivating both of you for the next year. That can be a courageous conversation.
As I did this I sat with anything that was troubling me so I could get a better perspective. So be done with it all, breath out and let go.
Next: Ways to structure the year
When pursuing leads nowhere..Part two of the Divine Feminine
Taken from Osho’s October newsletter on women:
Recently, Satya Nadella, the new Microsoft CEO, created a storm among working women with his casual statement at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing: “It’s not really about asking for the raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will give you the right raises as you go along.…”
There was uproar among women in the Microsoft Corporation, who are paid overall 78% of what equally qualified men received, and all over the U.S. there were many comments and tweets condemning Nadella’s chauvinistic attitude. This remark in TIME magazine represents the bitterness of all women regarding the gender bias: “Smile pretty and don’t be so unbecoming as to ask for a salary bump. After all, a raise is a lot like a male suitor, and if you pursue it, you might just drive it away.”
When I read this, I had been writing about the divine feminine. I don’t know if a statement has ever felt so nauseating. I don’t feel it’s in the nature of women to pursue. It’s unnatural, and demonstrative of how completely out of whack it all is. It did propel me to look at where I’ve been in this kind of pursuit. It just makes me shake my head. I can see the pursuit in my own family.
This fall I went to an art studio of a very established older male painter. My friend had worked with him, and she thought that maybe they needed more help on the sales floor and that I may be a good fit there. I went in and I walked through the gallery attempting to take in his work. I finally rounded a corner where only a few paintings were on the wall and there I sat. I began to experience a power in the work. I watched a video about his process. All very inspiring. I then was approached by the head coordinator, a female, and she and I connected beautifully. We walked out toward the painting studio where I met the artist, and something very surprising happened. I started to shift. It was so quick, almost imperceptible. The meeting place of our two energies, took me directly to a role of myself that I knew very well, that I suppose I used as a woman. But I was watching it. This hadn’t happened in so long. I got such a read on how he was with women, and an even more important read how I had a deep pattern, a created character like Marilyn Monroe, to directly give this guy energy, give him what he wanted. To me this is the pursuit.
My parents were born in the early 20’s, and were very non traditional. I was in constant debate with my father growing up. We challenged each other. I felt completely safe in doing so. Now my mother used to hear from her mother that women were to be seen and not heard. I am one person removed from this attitude.
All I can really say is it is an interesting time to be female. To be anything for that matter. We are busting through stereotypes as fast as we can. Shedding skins, breathing into personal freedom, longing to be true. I respect the giants of Feminism. I am doing my best to stare this cosmic joke right in the face. It is deeper than any of us can truly comprehend. To have to defend women on any level is beyond ludicrous. Onward.
The Last Boomers 1961-1964
The last of the baby boomers turn 50 this month. I have always been fascinated by the generation I was born into, and never knew what it was called, if indeed it was part of the boomers. I am inspired to write about us after reading an article by P.J. O’Rourke. He finds us a bit mysterious, that our part remains quietly obscure. We have seen a lot, and are not sure about commitment. We came of age when deregulation began, and divorce more common- many of us didn’t have kids. We are often living contradictions, not easily impressed, with an inherent sense of rebellion as well as spirituality.
Reincarnated Monks
I met and hung out with a Tibetan monk in the 90’s in the East Village. I adored this little guy yet don’t remember his name. We used to bop around and I was invited to meditation gatherings at his apartment just a few blocks up from mine. He told me that many born between 1961 and 1964 in the States are reincarnated monks. That felt accurate. For myself, and many friends born around the same time. These brilliant seekers kinda in the world who carry a deep longing for something that they themselves aren’t even sure about. Fellow last boomer David Fincher has directed some of the best movies in observation of the illusion of life. The Game, Fight Club, Benjamin Button, and even House of Cards. At least he’s out there with his work. It’s time for the rest of us to come out of hiding.
Some signs of the Last Boomers:
We’ve seen loss, know that nothing is stable, get the illusion better than most, are spiritual without denomination, don’t like to be labeled or pigeon-holed, better yet don’t want to be pressed to commit- we need exit strategies, maybe even those with kids still have a deep desire to be free, have held back, would prefer to live in a monastery but don’t, are watchful, extremely creative, full of wisdom, and have always been looking for the perfect place to live- a Shangri-la.
My siblings are part of the early boomer phase. Many have seemed to be more cause orientated.
Their platform has always seemed more clear, and I along for the ride. On the way to a hiking trail I was with my brother and his friend of the same age, both earlier boomers, while I in the backseat took in their conversation as they spoke of climate change on the planet and wanting to be off the grid. Although I strongly related to what they were talking about and want to do just that, I feel an almost required duty to be in the world and relevant. Here’s a picture of my brother and his friend as we walked on the Appalachian Trail. The two of them met in Nepal years ago.
Here’s to the boomers!
Power Conversation featured in Newsletter
This is like a confessional.
I was considering wealth, and what that feels like inside. I saw a fear of abusing power. As I kept looking, I saw the trappings of winning and losing, of competition and sabotage, I heard a voice, that quote, “with great power comes great responsibility”.
Those weren’t my words, but perhaps that’s where the fear was. Proof that second hand material can be misleading. What’s real power? Responsible to what? If I am really empowered I am clear about what I’m responsible to. The last thing I would want is to create dependency, and attachments to others. It dawned on me that as I truly step in to teaching that I would not want to create interdependence in any way, but an inter relating where we share and celebrate gifts and talents. I was a healthy competitor when I played sports. Playing for the sport of it, not for myself.
What I began to sense was not about personal power, but creating an empowered atmosphere. This would help clarify intent. Understanding ones motivation and the ability to communicate it directly is key. All you can really own is your intent, your motivation. You can’t even own ideas. As an idea is born to you it’s already “out there”. The wrong perspective of power wants to collect, own, and bully. The tower reminding me once again that letting go gets easier as you know yourself, as you truly face yourself, and you commit to being responsible. You stop clutching. You can let go. Why hold on? I am also reminded that I’ve been clearing a lot of stuff out again, and have seen family heirlooms in a new light. I’ll say I’m less attached. I remember when my mother didn’t want to be the custodian anymore. On retrospect things can be a burden.
That original quote is backwards, and so is society. Perhaps it was relevant once upon a time. Power is not a station you inherit, but a state of being you earn through experience.
New quote
“With great responsibility comes great power.” It’s an inside job first. So is true wealth.
My mission
To create an empowered atmosphere whereby personal truth and intent are made clear.
I just recently finished the Power Journal. It’s the misfits guide from pdf to physical form. It’s awesome. I’ve been doing it myself for final edits, mostly I’m using it to help me launch it! Well, it’s working. The way I go about this inner exploration is the undercurrent of the Power Journal.
I have come to this perspective. Individuals are a space for power, they can cause it. If someone is truly powerful, they command it. They own themselves. That cannot be taken away.
Art work at the top…by K Puss, super heroine….This is her power belt!